Adolphus Lewis Heermann (October 21, 1821 – September 27, 1865) was an American doctor, naturalist, ornithologist, and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. He travelled throughout the U.S. collecting samples and cataloging various species of birds, fish, reptiles, and plants. He participated in the fifth

Pacific Railroad Survey The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) were of a series of explorations of the American West designed to find and document possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and ...

as the surgeon and naturalist of a group led by Lt.

Robert S. Williamson Robert Stockton Williamson (January 21, 1825 – November 10, 1882) was an American soldier and engineer, noted for conducting surveys for the transcontinental railroad in California and Oregon. Inducted into the Army Corps of Engineers in 186 ...

and reported on the various birds along the route. Heermann was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the oldest son of Lewis (Surgeon in the Navy, August 3, 1779 - May 1833) and Eliza. After the death of his father, his mother moved to Baltimore and then took them to Europe around 1836. After their education in Europe, Adolphus and his brother Theodore came back to New York in 1842. From 1862 he was suffering from ''locomotor ataxia'', a symptom of syphilis and when Henry Dresser visited San Antonio in 1863, he was able to meet Heermann and the two went riding together on collecting trips. Heermann's legs had to be strapped into the saddle of his horse so that he would not fall off. Theodore wrote to Dresser about the death of Adolphus stating that he had gone out collecting alone, when his gun accidentally went off killing him.

Discoveries and namesakes

Heermann collected specimens of birds, animals, and plants in the western United States during his expeditions and sent them to specialists, mainly at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Several new taxa from his collections were named after him: *

Heermann's gull Heermann's gull (''Larus heermanni'') is a gull resident in the United States, Mexico and extreme southwestern British Columbia, nearly all nesting on Isla Rasa in the Gulf of California. They are usually found near shores or well out to sea, very ...

(''Larus heermanni'') *

Heermann's kangaroo rat Heermann's kangaroo rat (''Dipodomys heermanni'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. Their long smooth pelage resembles typical kangaroo rats, with their dorsal side showing a mixed range of olive, black and orange colors. There ...

(''Dipodomys heermanni'') * Heermann’s song sparrow (''Melospiza melodia heermani'') * Heermann's tarweed (''Holocarpha heermannii'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heermann, Adolphus Lewis 1821 births 1865 deaths American naturalists American ornithologists